Russia’s financial monitoring agency proposes freezing bank accounts of clients whose data matches its registry of terrorists and extremists

Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Rosfinmonitoring, is proposing changes to expand the reasons for freezing bank accounts. Under the proposed amendments, banks would have to halt transactions when a client's data partially matches the information of someone whose funds are already subject to a freeze. The proposed law changes were published on the government's portal for draft regulations and were highlighted by the news outlet Frank Media.

Currently, banks must freeze accounts of individuals on Rosfinmonitoring's list of terrorists and extremists within 24 hours. This list, which includes over 15,000 people, comprises figures such as Telegram founder Pavel Durov, writer Boris Akunin, and political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann. If the proposed amendments are approved, banks would halt transactions for five business days during a partial match. The freeze would only be lifted if a separate decision is made during this period.

Rosfinmonitoring would determine the precise criteria for what constitutes a partial match. According to the document, as of February 1, 2026, more than 800 individuals on Rosfinmonitoring's list had multiple recorded variations of their name, surname, or other identifying details. The proposed amendments aim to close the loophole that enables individuals to avoid the restrictions.

Meduza, committed to transparency in its use of artificial intelligence, produced this story, which was written by a journalist and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to adhere to strict editorial standards. Each draft undergoes review by a Meduza editor before publication. For any errors in this translation, please contact reports@meduza.io.